Old family unification based permanent residence permits expire soon
Do you have Hungarian permanent residency based on family unification? Check what kind of card you have. If you have the old, laminated card that was issued between August 3, 2016 and August 2, 2021, instead of the newer, plastic one, it will expire as of August 3, 2026. Other permits remain valid.
Do you have Hungarian permanent residency based on family unification? Check what kind of card you have. If you have the old, laminated card that was issued between August 3, 2016 and August 2, 2021, instead of the newer, plastic one, it will expire as of August 3, 2026. Other permits remain valid.
Compliance with EU and Hungarian law
According to EU legislation, EU residence permits should meet certain formal requirements to reduce forgery and ID theft. Each permit should clearly indicate whether it is a residence permit or a permanent residence permit, and whether it was issued based on family unification. Some old permits do not meet these criteria, and as such, they will lose their validity on August 3, 2026.
At the same time, because of the updates to Hungarian immigration law in recent years, some residence permit categories have become obsolete, including the same family unification based permanent residence permits. As a result, holders of such permits will need new residence permits.
In line with this, holders of concerned residence permits were supposed to receive a letter to their Hungarian registered address with instructions from the Immigration Office (OIF).
Who is this relevant to?
If you have not yet received a letter from the Immigration Office on this topic, this might still be relevant to you if you are
- a family member of an EEA citizen, OR
- a third-country national family member of a Hungarian citizen.
Third-country national means that you are not a national of an EU or EEA country.
No one else is affected by the new provision.
Check your residence permit
If you have permanent residency based on family unification, check your residence permit. Is it a laminated card? Was it issued between August 3, 2016 and August 2, 2021? If the answer is yes to both of these questions, you are supposed to have received a letter about this issue, and you are supposed to get a new residence permit before August 3, 2026.
In any case, the validity of such permanent residence permits is normally 5-10 years, so there is a chance they should expire soon anyway.
Get a new residence permit
You should have received instructions from the Immigration Office in a letter sent to your Hungarian address. If you need further assistance, contact the Immigration Office directly to see which residence permit you should apply for.
Additionally, you can ask for professional assistance from our expert colleagues. Helpers has 20+ years of experience and a team of 20+ people committed to helping you navigate Hungarian administration with ease.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No, it probably won’t. The latest provision is relevant only to a small segment of family unification residence permits: permanent residence permits that were issued between August 3, 2016 and August 2, 2021. These are old, laminated permits as opposed to the newer, plastic permits that offer more security to both holders and authorities.
The change affects only old family unification based permanent residence permits that do not match new security standards. Your new permit will be more modern and secure.
The Hungarian cultural exam is relevant only for new permanent residence permit applications. However, you will probably not be doing that. Even if you can apply for a new permanent residence permit, technically that should be considered an extension of your old permit. The actual answer will depend on which type of residence permit you are eligible for and how your application is treated, and only your case worker at the Immigration Office will be able to tell you that.
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